Past Events

The CAH Coalition hosts webinars on issues pertinent to CAHs. Below you can find a list of our previous webinars, as well as the slides from all webinars. If you are interested in the full records, please contact us directly at contact@cahcoalition.com.

Take away best practice methodologies for attracting, interviewing, and overcoming the competition to sign physicians and keep them in your organization. Learn key strategies for aligning strategic goals with physician stakeholders, engaging your medical staff, and retaining the high performing physicians in your organization.

Stephanie Hobson, PHR, AASPR, serves as Director of Physician Recruitment at Community Hospital Corporation (CHC). She is an accomplished healthcare recruitment executive with 20 years of experience in recruiting, retaining, consulting and managing physician practices in rural America. Stephanie assists CHC hospitals with physician recruitment and retention programs while managing costs and developing physician market strategies.

Health Policy Impacting CAHs

Paul Lee, Senior Partner at Strategic Health Care, joined us for an update on recent federal health policy impacting critical access hospitals. The CAH Coalition is advocating on Capitol Hill for the bipartisan CARE Act (H.R. 3224) which would expand allowable costs for CAHs. Paul Lee provided perspective on the CARE Act, the many 340B bills under consideration in the House and the Senate, new regulations from CMS, the President’s proposed budget, and more.

Paul Lee has a wealth of experience as a strategist and advocate on health issues in the U.S. Congress, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and other federal agencies. Prior to establishing Strategic Health Care in 1994, Paul was vice president of Government and Public Affairs with the Ohio Hospital Association. He has been an influential voice on many major health care bills passed by Congress.

Strategies for Successful Managed Care Contracting

Carolyn Roten, Partner at Strategic Health Care, joined us to discuss government regulations and the managed care industry. The number and share of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans has steadily climbed over the last decade. Now, almost one in three people on Medicare are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan.

Carolyn Roten has thirty years of experience in the health care industry and experience with managed care contracting services with a wide array of health care providers. Her experience and expertise in network development and contracting is coupled with her knowledge of the health insurance industry.

This webinar is aimed to help participants understand the changing landscape of health care, understand private contracting and rate methodologies.

Helping Communities: Utilizing Your Community Health Needs Assessment

Not-for-profit hospitals are required to conduct a CHNA once every three years and develop an implementation plan to meet community health needs. The requirements surrounding a CHNA are very specific, and while not every hospital is required to conduct one, conducting an assessment of the existing health needs within your community is a best practice both for your hospital and for the patient population you serve.

Lisette Hudson, MBA, MHA, Vice President of Planning at Community Hospital Corporation and Valerie Hayes, MPH, CHES, Senior Planning Analyst at Community Hospital Corporation will ensure participants gain knowledge of the CHNA background, key requirements under the final regulations, and best practices. Participants will also review examples and elements of a CHNA, as well as understand the importance of aligning the implementation plan with hospital strategic planning priorities.

Federal Health Policy Update: 2017 Year in Review

From Obamacare repeal and replace activities, changes to 340B, and turmoil at HHS, 2017 has been an interesting year for health policy. Coalition Members joined the CAH Coalition and Paul Lee, Senior Partner Strategic Health Care, for an overview of what is happening in Washington and an update of Coalition activities.

Providing Veterans a Choice: CAHs and the VA Choice Program

Devon Seibert-Bailey, Vice President for Policy at Strategic Health Care, joined us to discuss the history and status of the Veterans Choice Program. Started in 2014, the Choice Program allows veterans to receive health care within their community, and not just from VA medical centers. Many CAHs are eligible to become providers under the program, and just need to enroll to participate.

Devon comes with a wealth of experience handling health and veterans policy. Prior to working at Strategic Health Care, Devon spent over 6 years serving on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. She also spent almost 2 years as a policy advisor at the Department of Veterans Affairs under the Bush Administration. In total, Devon has over 11 years of experience working on Capitol Hill, including work as both the Legislative Director for Congressman David B. McKinley, P.E. (WV-01), and for Representative Marge Roukema of New Jersey.

Finding Solutions: Defining Allowable Costs for CAHs

The CARE Act legislation will ensure Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) are able to maintain high-quality care in their rural communities by offering greater clarity to the definition of allowable costs. CAHs play a vital role providing access to inpatient and outpatient services, as well as 24-hour emergency health care, economic security, and jobs to frontier communities across the nation. CAHs act as safety-net providers and are critical to ensuring that rural communities have access to emergency medical treatment within the “critical hour.” Without CAHs, hundreds of thousands of Americans may lose or have limited access to essential care.

A clearer definition of allowable costs is absolutely necessary. The CARE Act would clarify the definition of CAH allowable costs to assure that patient- and physician-centered expenses are included as originally intended. The legislation would also clarify commonly cited auditor discrepancies and remove barriers to care by ensuring coverage of the most common diagnostic tests, health clinics, and physician recruitment and retention costs.

CAH Telecommunications Funding Webinar

Whittney Walker, Funding Program Manager for Community Hospital Corporation, and the CAH Coalition spoke on telecommunications and how to apply for funding from USAC’s Rural Health Care Program. Whittney works with CHC’s hospitals and rural facilities to navigate state and federal funding programs to improve access to telecommunications services. Whittney works with hospitals across the country to secure the more than half a billion dollars in funding for healthcare providers and provided guidance as Critical Access Hospitals evaluate the USAC program.

CAHs and MACRA

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released their nearly 2,400 pages final rule for the Medicare and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) on Friday, October 14, 2017. The CAH Coalition commented on a number of provisions in the rule including requesting a 3-year MIPS penalties delay for CAHS, requesting a streamlined patient data capture and reporting system for CAHs, and recognition of the differences between CAH and RHC reporting requirements. This webinar discusses what is in the final rule affecting CAHs as well as CMS’s response to our requests.